Look Who's Writing Now

While the celebrity autobiography category will always be around, lately I am noticing a new breed of star style books. From photography and manners to cookbooks and body sculpting, celebs have something of interest to say...or not, you be the judge:) Here are a few of the unusual offerings:

Find it in Everything
Drew Barrymore
Little, Brown/2014

While the cover may not be the most eye-catching, actress (and now author and photographer) Drew Barrymore shares personal photographs of heart-shaped objects and patterns she has run across over the years (I am not making this up). From a torn t-shirt to a scallion in a bowl of Miso soup, she finds hearts in the most unexpected places. Hence the name, Find it in Everything and again, I am not making this up. Ya gotta love her.

Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top
Dorothea Johnson and Liv Tyler
Potter Style/2013

Learning at the table of her grandmother, actress, star of Armageddon and daughter of rock royalty teams up with Dorothea Johnson, founder of the Protocal School of Management to revisit the art of etiquette in 21st century society and business. I am thinking the chapter on dealing with social media and technology would be of interest -- wonder if it covers dealing with pesky paparazzi?

The Body Book: The law of hunger, the science of strength, the power of knowledge, and other ways to love your amazing body
Cameron Diaz
Harper Collins/2013

Well you can't dispute Diaz has a great body and this book might have the longest subtitle in history. The actress shares her "formula for becoming happier, healthier, and stronger" through some of the life lessons she has learned about eating, nutrition and exercise through a holistic, long-term approach. Obviously she is practicing what she preaches.  There is also an entire section on bikini lines and dedicated to going natural in certain areas --  and I am not talking about growing out your roots. (Again, I didn't make this up. I do give her credit for going make-up free and showing the photo:)

Love Life
Rob Lowe
Simon and Schuster/2014

Not an autobiography (he covered that in Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography) and touted as a memoir,  the former West Wing star offers up stories on addiction, friendships, men and women, art and commerce, etc. I am curious to hear his tales on "his surprise in the hot tub" while visiting Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion as a 20 year old and would be happy just to spend a day in his exquisitely designed Santa Barbara manse.

Happy Reading!

Photo Credits: Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, Potter Style, Little Brown

Change is in the Air at Downton

You know the year is off to a good start when we are treated on day five with season four of the PBS Masterpiece Classic series Downtown Abbey.

Should you need a reminder, season three ended with both a birth (Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley's son) and death (Matthew Crawley/Dan Stevens who ran off to search for greener Broadway and film pastures) in the two hour Christmas special. The finale ended on a poignant moment when Mary asked her hubby "Will I be your Mary Crawley for all of eternity?" which suggested Matthew had about five minutes of television time left. If this were American tv, Stevens could return in a dream sequence but since it is not, look for Lady Mary to shed the black dress and hook up mid season.

Look for Lady Mary clad in lots of black for the first part of the season

Actor Tom Cullen as Lord Gillingham will play a possible suitor for Lady Mary

Fortunately fan favorite Maggie Smith a.k.a. Dowager Countess will be back and here is hoping we see more of Shirley MacLaine as well. Actor Paul Giamatti (who has played a wide range of characters from HBO's John Adams to NBC's Pig Vomit in Private Parts) joins the cast as Cora's playboy brother Harold.

MacLaine and Giamatti with Mr. Carson/Jim Carter

Look for the top-notch costumes, sets, landscapes and writing that have made the show such a phenomenal success along with lots of grief, melodrama and the occasional plot twists we have come to expect from writer Julian Fellowes.  While Highclere will still play a major character right down to the original Van Dycks on the walls, look for lighter, more fun filled sets as the characters up their social game in London.

The period perfect settings of Highclere have become a familiar setting for viewers

Many of the show's settings will see an update to reflect the twenties

Production designer Donal Woods oversees the sets that will include the addition of party scenes in London

Jazz singer Jack Ross/Gary Carr plays a new character

Paul Giamatti and Poppy Drayton in what could be a Ralph Lauren Ad - ironically much of last season's line was influenced by the show

Never fear, there will be a season five. In the meantime, catch season four at 8pm/Central Sunday, January 5th on PBS.

Photo Credits: © Nick Briggs/Carnival Film and Television Limited 2013 for MASTERPIECE

Ho Ho Ho and Happy 2014

Best wishes for a wonderful (and sane!) holiday season and all the best for 2014. Its been a busy fall (I took on editor duties for the the online vintage site Ruby Lane's magazine Ruby Read - be sure and check it out!) and look forward to spending more time on Cinema Style next year. In the meantime,  Wolf of Wall Street, Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty are a few Christmas releases that look promising. If only every day were Christmas at the box office.

Or stay home and catch my big three - Holiday Inn, Christmas in Connecticut and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Cousin Eddie gets me every time.

JFK on Film

In honor of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy, Cinema Style takes a look a the numerous actors who have portrayed the late president on film and television.

PT 109 (1963)
Cliff Robertson

This film is memorable for two reasons -- it was released while JFK was still in office and Robertson gives one of the best portrayals to date. Legend has it the young president selected the actor to play him as a WWII Navy lieutenant after viewing his screen test and Jackie wanted Warren Beatty. Peter Fonda was also considered for the role. The film was released five months before JFK's assassination and apparently the President's only complaint was the fact Robertson parted his hair on the wrong side.

The Missiles of October (1974)
William Devane

ABC's made-for-television movie chronicles JFK's handling of the Cuban missile crisis. William Devane has always been a dead ringer for the President in my book (and I loved him as
Greg Sumner on Knots Landing but that's another story).

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981)
James Franciscus

Fans of a certain age will remember the late heart throb James Franciscus as TV's Mr. Novak and perhaps the most handsome JFK portrayal of all. Jaclyn Smith plays Jackie in the mini series tale of the First Lady.

Kennedy (1983)
Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen is no stranger to political dramas (West Wing and The American President) and portrayed JFK in the popular five-hour miniseries that aired before the 20th anniversary.

A Woman Named Jackie (1991)
Stephen Collins

The First Lady seems to have had as many bio pics as the President. Stephen Collins takes another handsome turn as JFK in the NBC miniseries with Roma Downey was Jackie.

JFK: Reckless Youth (1993)
Patrick Dempsey

In another twist on the JFK saga, the future McDreamy of Grey's Anatomy Patrick Dempsey plays the young Kennedy as he is nominated for Congress.

Thirteen Days (2000)
Bruce Greenwood

Greenwood plays JFK during the Cuban missile crisis with Kevin Costner as aide Kevin O'Donnell. (And a piece of trivia - Costner also starred in Oliver Stone's JFK).

Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000)
Tim Matheson

The CBS miniseries (that makes all three of the majors having their own JFK shows) starred none other than Tim Matheson aka Animal House's Eric Stratton (to be fair he played the VP in West Wing too!) as the 35th President with Joanne Whalley as Jackie.

The Kennedys (2011)
Greg Kinnear

The Reelz channel won four Emmys for their miniseries The Kennedys. Former Talk Soup and Academy Award nominated actor Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes played the presidential couple.

and lastly,

Killing Kennedy (2013)
Rob Lowe

Just in time for the 50th anniversary, former West Wing star Rob Lowe turned in an incredible performance as JFK. Based on Bill O'Reilly's book of the same name, the thriller centers on the assassination. Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin stars as the First Lady.

Photo Credits: NBC, ABC, National Geographic, CBS, Reelz, Lifetime, Warner Brothers, New Line

Transylvania Style

Even the castle at Transylvania had style. Floor to ceiling windows, quatrefoil designs on the fireplace and double candelabra iron sconces make Dracula's lair via the Universal backlot one of my favorite sets from the thirties.

Happy Halloween!


Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

The Good Wife: As Good As It Gets

The Good Wife just gets better and better...between the acting, storyline, and sets, it is perhaps the best show on network television this season.

I have covered the CBS Sunday night mega-hit on several occasions as the set decoration has caught the eye of the home furnishings industry -- first with a furniture line from Mitchell Gold followed by a home accessories collection with Interlude Home.

I was delighted to co-host a party with Traditional Home magazine for the launch of The Good Wife's next collection with the French home accessory company Madura at their Manhattan store. Designed in collaboration with the show's set decorator Beth Kushnick, the collection includes curtains, decorative pillows and accessories (coasters, magazine racks and picture frames). Inspired by the decor of the show, it's a touch of Paris via Alicia Florrick and Lockhart /Gardner.

Here's hoping you didn't miss the season's most explosive episode this past Sunday!

The show's powerhouse cast

Vignette inspired by  character  Grace Florrick's bedroom

I love the selection of pillows at Madura!

The company's Madison Avenue store 

Photo Credits: Madura, CBS, Traditional Home

Designing Dracula

Designing digs for Dracula has been done for years and always so familiar  - the crumbling walls, the cobweb filled castle steps, the creaky coffin... all trademark staples of the Gothic castle in Transylvania.

This time around, the Prince of Darkness is alive and well in the form of a wealthy American industrialist (The Tudors's Jonathan Rhys Meyers) Alexander Grayson and living in Victorian England in NBC's drama series Dracula. And his environs receive a modern twist.

Rhys Meyers turn as the Prince of Darkness

Set in 19th century London (via Budapest), British production designer Rob Harris (Mr. Selfridge) designed Dracula's opulent mansion Carfax Manor on a soundstage with a more modern take (think electricity) yet historically accurate to the period. Instead of looking to the famed vampire count for design inspiration, Harris looked to another icon, Jay Gatsby. "The design came from a very rich person's house in Londong fromt he same period. We didn't want gothic or a castle tower and it's kind of similar to an 1896 Great Gatsby with strong colors," says Harris. Some 150 sets were built for the ten episodes and the designers faced the challenge facing any vampire - designing a world of living in the night as "Dracula lives in a twilight world."

An entrance hall even Jay Gatsby would find over the top

Dracula's inner sanctum minus the coffin as a bed

The Victorian wardrobes - generally severe and dark - get a facelift as well through the work of costume designer Annie Symons. Bright and colorful, the show's executive producer Daniel Knauf notes, "There is a slightly David Lynchian, Tim-Burton-esque like element. If Alexander McQueen were alive in Victorian England, he would be in charge of the wardrobe for this show." Premiering on NBC Friday, October 25th at 10/9 central, tune in as there is something you can sink your teeth into - no pun intended.

Symon's colorful frocks are anything but Victorian

English society is introduced to the lightbulb by Dracula

For more on Designing Dracula and just in time for Halloween, see my story in The Hollywood Reporter.

Photo Credits: NBC, The Hollywood Reporter

House of Versace

Well this should be fun.

Take the elements of money, sibling rivalry, fame, and murder against a backdrop of over the top fashion coupled with the inimitable Donatella Versace and you have all the makings of a very entertaining made for television movie.

Based on the book House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder and Survival by Wall Street Journal reporter Deborah Ball, Gina Gershon does an uncanny dead-on performance of the iconic Italian fashion designer and sister of the late Gianni Versace in the Lifetime production (airing Friday, October 5th, 8:00 PM ET). The biopic focuses on Donatella's role in the fashion house after her brother's murder in 1997, weaving in the dramas of her drug addiction, near bankruptcy of the company and eventual triumph as she rebuilds the Versace brand. (Rumor has it the real Donatella is not pleased with the production). House of Versace also starts Raquel Welch as her aunt and Enrico Colantoni (Person of Interest) as Gianni.

The hour long documentary "Versace: Beyond the Headlines" that follows the film (10:00 PM ET) promises a fascinating look into Gianni's multi-million dollar fashion empire. Between this and the new fall shows, I may need another Tivo.

Actress Gina Gershon

Colantoni, Gershon and actor Colm Feore as brother Santo 

Santo, Donatella and Gianni Versace

Raquel Welch in a Versace creation

One of the many lavishly sets from Production designer Patricia Christie

Photo Credits: Lifetime/Jan Thjis, Telegraph